


Haunted

by justabrain



Series: Inktober Prompts [5]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Episode: s01e23 Skin of Evil, F/F, Hallucinations, Holodecks/Holosuites, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-05-03 09:26:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14566026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justabrain/pseuds/justabrain
Summary: Counselor Troi doesn't like Halloween.





	Haunted

Counselor Troi didn’t like Halloween. 

When she was young, of course, her father had celebrated it, and had encouraged her to do the same. So, she would dress up as an old Earth princess, or a sehlat, or her Betazoid kitten. But as she got older, the excitement wore off and began to be replaced by dread. 

She didn’t believe in ghosts, obviously. They were stories made up purely to scare and intimidate. But around this time, there was always… something. 

Sighing, Troi rounded the corner and pressed the button to open the door to her quarters.

“Counselor!” 

The voice was barely audible, almost perceived rather than heard. She paused and turned. Seeing nobody, she returned to the main corridor and looked down each direction. People passed, paying her no attention. Frowning, she returned to her quarters.

The door hissed shut behind her, and she jumped slightly. She could have sworn it was louder than normal. 

“Computer, play some music. Soft guitar.”

As the gentle strumming filled the air, she began to relax. Letting out a breath, she shook her head. 

 

———

 

_I will kill her and there is nothing you can do about it_ , the telepathic voice hissed. 

“No!” she yelled, banging at the sides of the downed shuttle. But the more she protested, the more the sides began to close in on her.

“Deanna, are you in there?” a feminine voice called out.

“Yes, Tasha, I’m here! I’ll save you!”

_You can never save her._

“Tasha?” she yelled.

“Tasha’s dead,” Geordi’s voice came. “Tasha’s dead and you killed her. You killed my friend!”

The walls pressed closer, and the air was thicker — no, thinner — and her throat seized up. “Imzadi,” she whispered.

_Your_ imzadi _is dead. You killed her. Why didn’t you do more? You could have saved me, why didn’t you do more?_

“No, I didn’t… No…”

 

———

 

Deanna woke up in a cold sweat, the blanket tangled around her legs. With a sigh, she rubbed her face. Slowly, she stood and put on some comfortable clothes. Leaving her room, she made her way to holodeck 4.

Pressing the panel, she selected a program. 

“Enter when ready.”

Taking a breath, she entered a duplicate of what had been their favorite program together. But this one included a replica of Tasha sitting on a bench in the park. As Deanna walked in, Tasha looked up from the book she was reading and smiled. “Deanna.”

She smiled gently in return. “Imzadi.”

“Come, sit with me.”

They were both quiet for a moment as she sat, and they watched the river go by. 

Tasha began again. “You know that I’ve died if you have access to this program. I can only hope that it was an honorable death.”

“You sound like Worf,” Deanna said with a smile.

Tasha laughed softly, then turned to face her. “I just need you to know that I love you,” she said, looking earnestly into her eyes. “I love you with all that I am. And however I died, the last thing I want is for you to become hard and bitter. You have such a big heart with so much love to give.”

Deanna let out a breath of air. “I’ll do my best.”

“Good,” Tasha said with a smile. “I love you, imzadi.”

Deanna stood, smiling back at her. “Computer, end program.”


End file.
